A/N:
Alice is certainly going through a lot, and the sheer amount of research I had to do for this story is dizzying! But I'm glad you all enjoy it :)
Title: Origins: Living in my Future
Author: MarieCarro
Beta: Alice's White Rabbit
Pre-reader: BitterHarpyand brierlynn03
Genre: Supernatural/Mystery
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Mary Alice Brandon had always been different. She seemed to know things that had yet to happen, and the people in town avoided her at all costs. But the cries of "Witch" or whispers of "Changeling" wasn't her biggest concern. Someone much closer to her than the townsfolk couldn't accept her differences, and it put her in life-threatening danger.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
CHAPTER 15
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28th 1939 – FRIDAY, JULY 24th 1942
My visions had been acting up for weeks, but I couldn't quite figure out why. All I knew was that, for once, it had nothing to do with the decisions made by my family, Jasper, or Maria, and everything to do with Peter's frantic and puzzling behavior, which in itself confused me.
As Jasper's brotherly relationship with Peter solidified, it was only natural and felt logical that I started to have more visions of him or them together since their lives became more intertwined, but having Peter mess with my visions on his own was just odd.
On top of that, it was Purging Day. Weeks earlier than I'd expected since I knew it usually followed a certain pattern and time frame, but something had awakened Maria's impatience, and she wanted to get rid of her current group of newborns as soon as possible.
I hated Purging Day. I hated that I knew what it was and that Jasper was such an integral part of it. Being Maria's soldier meant killing their enemies on her behalf, and as nauseating as her motivations were to attack other vampires and take over their territories, there was still a small grain of purpose behind that killing.
The harsh truth was that in Jasper's world, it was all about kill or be killed, but Purging Day was different, and this one had to be the worst one yet.
A couple years of false peace had made Maria less picky about her choices of soldiers, and the most recent ones never had what it took to be warriors. They were all women without special knowledge or powers, small and unassuming. Cannon fodder, in a manner of speaking. If they were attacked, the women's only purpose was to distract and slow down the aggressors. Not to fight and survive.
Weeks ago, Peter had asked Jasper if there were any of the women he would consider allowing to live, and when Jasper had dismissed him by simply stating it was Maria's decision to make, he'd acted indifferent, but I'd seen the agony he'd pushed down.
It was after that my visions became wonky. They rapidly changed course and never stayed on one path long enough for me to see a real outcome. I thought I'd make some sense of them if I tried to draw what I saw, but that only resulted in me sitting on the floor, surrounded by scattered pieces of paper bearing drawings that were in no way connected to the next one.
I was exhausted, and I just wanted everything to calm down.
"Would it be so bad just to keep one or two on hand?" Peter repeated for what I believed was the thousandth time. "What if Ricardo or Gabriel shows up here before we've strengthened our numbers back up? They'll annihilate us. I know I'd feel better to have a couple extra hands just to—"
"I told you, Pete, Maria's instructions were clear. All of them have to go. There's nothing I can do to change that," Jasper said but also gave his frantic-looking brother a look of concern. "If this is too much for you, I can do it myself. Just don't let Maria see you shunning your duties. She might change her mind about you staying with us."
"No, I can do it. I just think we shouldn't be too hasty with the executions. That's all."
"Well, you'll have to get used to it. It's an inevitable part of this life we lead."
It was one of the few clear visions I'd had in a while, but as that one was replaced by another, everything became chaotic once more. I dropped my pen and the pad of paper on the floor with a dull thud and stretched out on my back, just staring at the ceiling.
Why was Peter being so indecisive? What was he agonizing over? Had I missed something in the past? Was there a clue I'd overlooked?
A frustrated sigh left me, and I started collecting my drawings, placing them all in a leather binder. No matter how chaotic they were, I had a feeling they'd come in handy when I had to explain to Jasper how my visions worked. If he could see even just a glimpse of what it was like for me, he would, hopefully, start trusting me sooner.
"Charlotte, run!"
I blinked and dove deep into the vision presented to me. A young, pale blonde woman had entered the room where the executions were held, but she'd barely taken one step inside before Peter went into sudden action, yelled at her to run before he did the same, grabbing her hand in his when they were side by side, and disappeared in the distance.
Jasper didn't even make a move to follow even though he would have easily caught up to them if he'd wanted to. He just stared in the direction his brother had fled with a mixture of surprise, confusion, and maybe it was just my own wish manifesting, but I thought I saw a hint of longing in his eyes as well.
But the next second, his face was expressionless again, and he resumed with the purging on his own.
{=LMF=}
When the war broke out, I knew it was only a matter of time before my family decided they had to leave and find a place they could settle down in until the draft was over, and then Emmett had his slip in discipline, so their move to Alaska was the sound choice.
I thought that would mean I'd have a few years where nothing truly exciting would happen to them, and I'd be able to focus all my energy on Jasper, who was unfortunately, once again, alone with Maria.
But I was wrong.
No more than a month passed before the most unexpected twist happened.
Another coven of vampires, who shared my family's unconventional lifestyle. Five of them, to be exact. Four women and one man. With a permanent residence.
"How have you not heard about them?" Edward asked Carlisle the one question that was probably on everyone's mind. How was it possible that a vampire who'd lived as long as Carlisle hadn't known there were others out there who shared his lifestyle?
I saw their meeting, with both sides very adamant on keeping civil without venturing into the territory of a confrontation. Edward reacted strangely to the male for some reason, but it was one of the women who stepped forward as the leader.
"Hello," she said. "What can we help you strangers with?" She was stunningly beautiful with light, wavy hair that reflected pink and red undertones, and she moved with the same kind of confidence only vampires of a certain age and maturity could.
Carlisle introduced himself and our family, and the woman responded with a friendly smile.
"I'm Tanya, and these are my sisters: Katrina and Irina. The couple over there is Carmen and Eleazar."
"Have you lived here for long?"
"A few hundred years, give or take."
"And you've stayed here that entire time?"
Rosalie wasn't the only one in awe of that little nugget of information. After having watched Jasper so closely, I knew what sacrifices had to be made in order to stay in one place for longer than a few years at a time. In Mexico, it meant complete isolation from the human world, being cut off from modern society and only settling with the company of those you shared your life with.
That was a way of life I knew could never satisfy Carlisle, who, at this point, craved human contact and had to help those in need.
"There are rarely any humans this deep in the park, and we don't really see the necessity of venturing into the city. Would you like to see our home?"
I only saw bits and pieces after that. I learned that Eleazar had a history with the infamous Volturi, but that it was after Carlisle had already left. The three main sisters of the coven were apparently the origin of some vampire myth I'd never heard of before and regularly sought sexual gratification with human men.
Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought sex with a human was possible for a vampire, but I'd also come to accept I knew exceptionally little of real vampire nature and what we as a species were actually capable of. The sisters' philosophy was undoubtedly intriguing, especially since it led them to their current way of life.
Carlisle had found it through his empathy and compassion for humans, but they found it because it hurt them too much to kill the men they connected with. One side selfless and the other selfish, and yet, they found common ground in a unifying goal.
The following days, I saw the birth of what I already knew would be an existence-long friendship between my family and the Alaskan coven, and I looked forward to the day I'd meet them myself.
{=LMF=}
"I have to admit, you're a mystery to me, Miss Alice."
I giggled and looked up at the physically older-looking woman before me without breaking the rhythm I'd created, separating the linens from the delicates. "How so, Mrs. Champlin?"
"For one, girls with your looks usually educate themselves to become nurses or air hostesses. They prefer to be seen in pretty uniforms and not be stuck in the back with the steam and their hair out of place."
"I can't stand the sight of blood and planes make me nervous," I said, but my boss wasn't easily convinced.
"Your hands are too pretty. They look as if you haven't done one hard day's work in your life. You've been here for months now, and they're as perfect as ever. How is that possible?" She narrowed her eyes at me.
"I use thick gloves when handling the harsh chemicals, and I have a cream I put on them every night."
Mrs. Champlin placed her hand on top of mine to stop me from continuing with what I was doing. I really had to focus not to accidentally injure her by resisting her hand. "Tell me the truth, Miss Alice. Why are you here?"
Why was I there? I didn't actually need to work since I didn't have a family to take care of or bills to pay. I didn't have a husband, father, or brother fighting Germans overseas, and doing the laundry for people who weren't close to as rich as I was myself could be seen as odd and out of place, but the truth was I enjoyed the labor.
It was a job that didn't require a fancy education so I didn't have to forge any documents in order to get it. I got to learn more intricate details about fabrics and how to properly care for them, which in turn inspired the designs I hoped to bring to life one day, and the women I surrounded myself with were some of the most interesting people I'd ever had the pleasure of talking with and listening to.
They were women who'd lived. They had experience and knowledge of things I hadn't even considered before. Stories to share about married life, family life, society, religion, politics, pretty much every topic between heaven and earth, and I loved hearing their views.
Working as a laundress was also one of the few jobs you could have without worrying about the color of your skin. At least, not at the place where I was. I couldn't speak for other places, but Mrs. Champlin had made one thing clear in her establishment—no matter who you are, where you come from, what you believe, or what you look like, all of us need to clean our clothes and linens.
From my very first day there, I had felt inexplicably drawn to a woman who had the most infectious laugh I'd heard in my existence. Her name was Elaine, and she didn't mince her words. If she had an opinion, she let you know, and she loved to hold a discussion. In the laundry room, she appeared fearless and strong.
Out in the streets was a different matter, but it had taken some time for me to convince her I was a trustworthy person to open up to. When she finally did, I was horrified with the stories she told me about what her family had gone through and what they still had to deal with on a daily basis because some people still saw her and other black people as less than.
Something about Elaine had sparked an ember of recognition in me, but it was such a faint flicker, much like the affinity I felt with the women who were bussed between the shelter and mental institutes, that I could only assume she reminded me of someone in my past, but unfortunately, I would never know who that was.
I smiled at Mrs. Champlin. "I'm here to learn and to do my part. What other reasons do I need to have?"
"Let the girl work in peace, Linda," Elaine called from the other side of the room, a wide smile on her face. "Lord knows we've got more than enough to spare for her." She let out a warm laugh, and the women around her joined in.
Finally, Mrs. Champlin stepped away and shook her head with an amused expression. "As I said, a mystery."
A/N:
I know you're waiting for Jasper. Alice is too ;-P He will join the story very VERY soon. Not tomorrow, but definitely the day after that :D
Until tomorrow,
Stay Awesome!